Method of forming a fin radiator assembly



July 7, 1953 c ugz 2,644,225

METHOD OF FORMING A FIN RADIATOR ASSEMBLY Filed April 25 1950 l la. I.

INVENTOR,

CLIFFORD H. DIE-r2, I

Patented July 7, 1953 UNITED STATES METHOD OF FORMING A FINRA ASSEMBLY mrroa- 7 Clifford H. -Dictz,. Indianapolis, Ind as signor to Hall-Neal Furnace Company,

Indianapolis,

Ind.,' a corporation of Indiana 7 v c 1950,. Serial N-o.-.157,878.

v ApplicationApril 25 This invention relates to the tion from heated surfaces, and particularly to a construction of the fins themselves. The'inVention embodies the formation" of a fin structure wherein there is a length of'sheet metal having integral inturned ends to serve as terminal fins, with intervening fins welded to that sheet, and the sheet formed in an arcuate mannerand held there by stay rods, whereby the inner ends of the various fins terminate in" an arc of a circle having less radius thanthat of the -outer sheetmetal.

A primary purpose of the invention is to permit the formation of a fin assembly in a manner whereby there is provided an outer continuous bounding surface from which the spaced apart fins radiate inwardly toward the surface which is heated, to the end that there will be a plurality of columns formed between fins having surfaces readily available for upward currents of air to receive heat therefrom.

A further primary object of the invention is to provide an exceedingly simplified assembly which may be made with a minimum number of operations, and also a minimum number of parts along with less metal being required, and while at the same time the over-all efficiency of the transfer of heat is maintained.

A still further important object of the invention is to permit the formation of fin assemblies in single units which may be brought into direct contact with a cylindrical surface through inner ends of the various fins, simply by hanging the assembly on that surface.

These and many other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those versed in the art in the following description of one particular form of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of the inside of a fin assembly embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in top plan of the assembly as applied to a cylindrical heating drum;

Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale in vertical section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a view of the fin assembly prior to curving it to the desired curvature for the particular surface to which it is to be applied.

Referring to the drawing, in which like characters of reference indicated like parts, I form in one continuous length an elastic sheet metal wall l2, having end portions l3 and I4 bent therefrom at substantially right angles, Fig. 4. The lengths of these ortions 13 and M from the length I2 are equal, and are of that dimension which 1-Claim. (Cl. 2915'7.3)1

art of finradiaisv selected to space the-length l2. from the heating surface to which the assembly is to be applied.

At regularly spaced intervals along the length of the. metal 12 there are secured thereto between the portions [3 and [4, a plurality of metal fins l5 ,.herein shown as seven innumber, the exact number depending upon the length of the metal !2 employed.

Each of thesefins l5 consistsof a planar length of metal from avertical edge of which is turned therefrom at substantially at a right angle; a

foot I6. The fin I5 in each instance is secured to the metal length or wall [2 by spot welding the foot Hi to the wall l2.

The wall 12 is then bent around into arcuate shape at the radius of curvature which will cause the fins I5 to extend inwardly and radially therefrom and terminate by their inner vertical edges in a common generated curved alignment to have their inner ends in common with the cylindrical surface I! of a heat radiator 18. The outer end portions 13 and M are also radially disposed, Fig. 2, and the assembly is preferably held in some sort of a fixture (not shown) while top and bottom rods [9 and 20 respectively are passed through the end portions [3 and I4 and the intervening fins, adjacent their inner vertical edges. The rod [9 is spaced near the top ends of those members while the rod 20 is spaced near the bottom of those members. As these rods l9 and 20 are extended through from one member to the next, an intervening spacer thimble 2| is provided on the rods in each case so that the ends of the spacer 2| in each case will abut the respective opposing faces of adjacent fins l5. This holds the inner ends of the fins IS in proper relation one to the other, and also holds them against any possible vibration which would set up noise otherwise. In the present showing, each of the rods l9 and 20 is provided with an overturned end 22, and is pulled endwise for snug engagement of the fins against the ends of the thimbles 2| by a nut 23 screw-threadedly engaging the other end of the rod.

By this means, the entire assembly becomes a rigid unit. Then the assembly may be applied to the heated wall I! simply by having the intervening thimbles 2| rested on hooks 24, herein shown as two in number, extending from the surface ll so that the inner vertical edges of the fins I5 and of the end portions l3 and I4, may rest in actual contact throughout their vertical lengths against the surface I! without any other means of attachment being necessary.

Therefore it is to be seen that I have provided a very simple method of forming a fin assembly which permits the assembly to be formed first in a generally rectilinear form, and then the assembly may be curved to the desired curvature and then secured in that curved form by a minimum number of parts. While I have herein shown and described my invention in that one particular form, it is obvious that structural variations may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond the limitations which may be imposed by the following claim.

I claim:

The method of forming a fin radiator assembly which comprises forming a plurality of planar fins in generally rectangular shape; bending a foot from one edge portion of each fin at substantially right angles thereto; bending end portions of a planar sheet metal wall in the same direction from and at substantially right angles thereto, said end portions being formed to have the same vertical and horizontal dimensions as the corresponding dimensions of the areas of said fins extending from said feet; positioning said fins at approximately equal distances apart and along said wall with said fin feet resting against the wall, and extending from the wall in the same direction as said wall end portions extendywelding said feet to said wall; bending the resultant wall with the fins assembled thereon to the de- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 986,372 England Mar. 7, 1911 1,440,486 Neal Jan. 2, 1923 1,548,015 Bergen July 28, 1925 1,716,083 Neal June 4, 1929 1,742,556 Olson Jan. '7, 1930 1,834,736 Purdy Dec. 1, 1931 "1,929,540 Trane Oct. 10, 1933 1,921,041 I Reynolds Aug. 8, 1933 1,912,785 Mills June 6, 1933 1,942,211 Hartwig Jan. 2, 1934 2,007,000 Oakey July 2, 1935 2,059,992 Gould Nov. 3, 1936 2,154,217 Savage Apr. 11, 1939 2,378,646 Manning June 19, 1945 2,477,455

Hinchclifi July 26, 1949 

